Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now joining me live in the studio this morning is
the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Lea Fanocchiiro.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Good morning to your Chief Minister.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Still mining Katy into your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Now, sadly, another domestic violence death on the weekend, a
man killed at the hands of his partner in Alowa.
Police arrested a thirty one year old woman following the
alleged stabbing, as well as an attack on another woman. Now,
according to the police, the Joint Emergency Services Communications Center
responded to reports that both the man and the woman
(00:28):
had allegedly been stabbed at a home in Aloha Crescent
on Friday night. Now, the man was reported to be unconscious.
Police and Saint John Ambulance found the thirty three year
old man in a critical condition with stab wounds.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
He later died.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I mean, these horrific incidents, they're happening almost daily, like
the terrible incidents of domestic violence. But then we've got
domestic violence deaths happening.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
All too often. What can your.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Government do on urgens to try and make some in
roads here.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Yeah, Look, it's a terribly sad situation and obviously our
thoughts are with the family and the friends of the deceased,
and it's awful, Katie.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
And you're right, we hear about it all too often.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
You know, we've committed thirty six million dollars a year ongoing.
That's the biggest commitment the government's ever done. Is money
the only answer? Absolutely not, And I think we've seen
that money often isn't the answer at all.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So we've strengthened the laws.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
There's more work being done, and we should have some
new laws ready for introduction in March sittings as well,
specifically around this issue of domestic violence. But it's a
tragedy and it's I think it's symptomatic of many, many
years of permissive laws and policies that haven't clamped down
on people who start that offending journey. I think we're
just seeing mass escalation in offending because of weak laws
(01:54):
for far too long.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Where are things that then, with that funding role out,
I mean, are we seeing that money hit the ground,
and are we seeing things like I know there's a
lot of talk about men's behavior change programs and that
kind of stuff, but what about you know, making sure
that women have a safe place to sleep?
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Yeah, exactly, that is really important and that work is
ongoing with Minister carl. I know an additional eight point
four million has been allocated for twenty four hour frontline services,
which is really important. We've also got the Domestic Violence
Correspondent model happening at the moment as well.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Again, changes to the Sentencing.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Act are certainly required and other legal frameworks that we
can clamp down, but it's that preventative work as well.
You know a lot of people who commit domestic violence
were victims of domestic violence as a child or witnessed
it as a child, and so we've got to be
getting in very very early to make sure there isn't
another generation of DV perpetrators because they themselves were victims.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
All Right, I'm going to move along because we've got
a lot to cover off on this morning. And the
Law Society of the Northern Territory late last week so
that it was disappointed and concerned the media commentary of
recent weeks concerning the decision by the Northern Territory Supreme
Court to grant bail to a young defendant to attend
a funeral in a remote community. Now, Society President Mister
(03:11):
Richard Henschke said it is imperative that the media and others,
including politicians, who comment publicly on such matters take utmost
care to ensure the accuracy of their commentary.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
The comments followed a four page statement which was issued
by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in response
to public commentary concerning the granting of bail to the
teenager ten days ago. Chief, it seems to me the
law society is concerned by commentary around the granting of
bail to that youth involved in an incident which saw
the baby's skull fracture. Now we know that obviously, are
(03:49):
the Chief Justice also issuing that statement about these considerations
required when determining whether to grant compassionate bail.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Has this made you in a less.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Concerned that the team was granted bail to attend a
funeral at a cost of more than seven thousand dollars
or has it changed your mind on your comments you've made.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Oh no, absolutely not, Katie.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
And again the community was furious and continue to under
to be questioning why this happened. Now, I undertook last
week to go away and do some further work on
this and that is still ongoing. And I will absolutely
let your listeners know if I can get to the
bottom of whether or not this is normal practice, whether
or not this money has been spent before. Certainly the
(04:31):
Chief Justice putting out a statement was highly unusual, and
he flagged a couple of areas which raised our eyebrows
around what further.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Work we can do to strengthen the law. So to
that extent we were it.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Was useful because we can now look at whether we
need to tighten discretion. But I think it also defies
or Beggar's belief. You know, the Chief Justice made a
comment in his statement about their needing to be that
other jurisdictions need the judges to so excuse me, have
a high degree of confidence, and I just did have
got me thinking, well, we can strengthen the lord to
(05:04):
make it say, judges have to have a high degree
of confidence, but surely they've got to have a degree.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Of confidence before they make the decision.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Just I'll take our listeners through that because in the statement,
as you touched on there, he said there is no
provision in the Northern Territory legislation requiring that bail must
not be granted to a youth unless the court has
a high degree of confidence now the young person, and
so a high degree of confidence that the young person
will not commit a further offense while on bail. So
(05:34):
I would have thought the same thing, right, I would
have thought that you're not actually granting bail unless you
do have a high degree of confidence that they're not
going to commit a further offense while on bail. Unfortunately,
we seem to see that time and time again in
the Northern Territory. Very often we receive press releases from
the Northern Territory Police somebody's been charged, a youth's being charged.
(05:56):
They're also being charged with breaching bail. So now looking
at strengthening this legislation, is that something that needs to
be tightened up. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Absolutely, So we're already doing a rewrite of the Use
Justice Act, so that is already on foot, but we'll
now look at this clause and see whether that's required.
But at the end of the day, I'm with you, Katie.
I would have thought before the judge makes any decision
around BAO, they have to have a degree of confidence
that they're not going to go on to offend. And
as far as I'm concerned, the criteria that was outlined
(06:25):
in the statement showed me all the reasons why you
wouldn't grunt that person bow, not the reasons why you
would have.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
You met with the Chief Justice about.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
This, No, I haven't, but the as appropriate the Attorney
General has and you know that meeting needs to be
a private meeting, you know, between the detected arms, and
that's important. But at the end of the day, I'll
make sure we strengthen the law if that's what requires
is required. I'll make sure that we set a standard
within the agencies to make sure that we are not
(06:52):
just blindly you know, paying for things. So there's a
lot of work that needs to be done because this
hasn't been challenge before and it's not well understood.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
So we're still working through it.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
So just on the funeral cost and whether that has
happened before. You mentioned that you've met with the department.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Has it happened before, So it's unclear.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
This is quite an unusual situation in that Corrections could
have just said yep, all right, we'll bow the youth
for the day. They decided not to because it was
too high risk and they didn't have the resources. So
that then meant because the territory was the parent. Because
the child is under the care and protection, the territory
has to act like the parent. And so I think
(07:34):
for me, there's broader questions around and there's parents listening
right now. As parents, we all have to draw lines
in the sand about what we can do for our kids,
how much we can afford. And so I don't necessarily
think that going forward, just because the territory is quote
unquote the parent means that the territory has to take
extreme risk and extreme cost to facilitate something. Now, there
(07:56):
are plenty of people who miss funerals, including your listeners,
who decide that they can't afford to go into state
for the funeral or the children can't come with them.
So you know, we have to have compassion in these situations.
But also there's a realism that comes for ordinary parents.
There has to be a realism that comes for the
territory when it's a parent too.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Okay, So it does sound as though you're seeking some
further insformation from the department. Still, I'll be very interested
to see what comes back there. It also looks like
or sounds like you are looking at this part of
you know, this provision or there being no provision in
the Northern Territory legislation requiring that bail must not be
(08:35):
granted to a youth unless the court has got a
high degree of confidence. So is there the possibility here
that your government's going to change that legislation.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah, definitely, it's certainly in the mix now, Katie, and
we're just working through that now. And our rewrite of
the Youth Justice Act is something we are really looking
forward to, as I'm sure your listeners are as well.
So you know we've done our reducing crime package with
Declan's Law, knife crime, news is public drinking, minimum, mandatory
sentencing for assaults on work is a whole range of
(09:04):
other things. And we've always said there's more work to do.
Last Parliament we gave police better powers to enter premises,
so that works on going and we'll just keep working
at it till we get it right.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
On the Youth Justice Act.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Now, somebody listener did get in contact with us and
raised with a section sixty.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Four A of the Youth Justice Act.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Now this section says Youth Justice Court may dismiss charges
so as sixty four A Section one, subject to sub
Section two, the Youth Justice Act may at any stage
of the proceedings against a youth in respect of an offense,
dismiss the charge in respect of the offense, whether or
not the court finds the charge proven against the youth.
(09:47):
Now I am not a legal expert. Oh I'm certainly
not professing to know the Youth Justice Act inside and out.
But from the outset of that me reading that, I
read that to me that at any point the court
can dismiss charges which the police have laid against a youth.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
That could be very serious.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Yeah, and our legislation is way too broad. So Queensland
and New South Wales do have very similar provisions, but
they are a bit tighter. So this section sixty four
A will be part of the Youth Justice rewrite that
we're doing, and we'll look at strengthening that. But I mean,
I just want to go to your point, perhaps in
your opener, Kadi, where we've got the opposition leader coming
(10:29):
out swinging on our bail laws. I mean section sixty
eight eight is a Labor construct and we've got a.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So how long's that section of it been in place?
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Well, probably since the New Youth's Justice Act under Labour
when they did the big rewrite. Quite a few years
ago where all of the bail laws were weakened and
all of that other stuff. So I think Labour's kidding
themselves if they want to have a crack at us
for bower laws. We've gone a long way and there's
more to go. But I tell you what under Labor
people were getting about, left, right and sent.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So can I can I just delve into this a
bit more deeply this point in time? Can the court
dismiss any charges that have been laid against youth if
they see fit?
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Look, I won't answer that, Katie, only because I don't
exactly know the answer. It certainly reads that way and
it's certainly been told to me that it is too broad. Queensland,
as I said, Pensland and Youth outwise do have similar provisions.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Can we make a kit tighter? Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
So I'm throwing that section into the Youth Justice Act
rewrite so that the right people can look at it.
So that'll be police, children and families, Attorney General and
Justice and Corrections. They will look at it and come
back to us with what we need to do that's better.
And I'll try to get an answer to you on that.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
So you can let your listeners know.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
So when are you expecting that that rerise of the
Youth Justice Act is going to sort of be ready
to go?
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Yeah, I think we're looking to midyears. So obviously, if
it can be done sooner, we absolutely will. But we
want it to be really comprehensive as well. And because
it touches on a number of agencies, we've really pulled
together a tea to be able to look at it,
and I've been able to put in a lot from say,
Strike Force, Trident for example, gave me some on the
ground practical measures they'd like to see in it. So
(12:09):
that's in the mix, and it's been a really collaborative,
front line initiative and we're really looking forward to getting
that through.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Look, I know some people listening will be thinking, you know,
will be putting kids in jail is not the answer.
Charging kids is not the answer. There needs to be
intervention early. You need to stop them before they get
on this track. And look, sure, you know that's all true,
it is, but at the end of the day, if
there are young people who are committing serious offenses, there
(12:39):
also needs to be a consequence to those offenses, and
you have.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
To weigh up their rights versus the community's right to
be safe, and that is always a balancing act. But
that's exactly what a justice system is for. If you
have a young person that shows continued disregard for the
law is exhibiting a risk to the community, they have
to be dealt with in an environment that means everyone
else can go about their day safely. And that's the
(13:03):
that's the brutality.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Of the system.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
But if you're doing the right thing, you'll never have
a problem. So that's my message to everyone.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Just feels a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
It sounds as though everything is on the table when
it comes to the Youth Justice Act and it being rewritten.
Not just the age of Criminal Responsibility.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Oh absolutely so age of criminal Responsibility is done. The
Youth Justice rewrite is looking at all sorts of things
that you know, Labor unwound a lot of things, Katie,
and you know, we don't have all the answers yet
because as we come across something just like last week,
it raises up new issues that we need to fix.
So the idea behind the rewrite is to pull all
(13:41):
the right agencies together to get their feedback on how
that act that Labor did has been working and how
we can strengthen it to better align to community expectations.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
So we're very keen to get it done.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
I don't want to rush it, but I don't want
it to drag on, so I would expect by midyear
we're good to go.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
All right, A couple of couple of quick ones, because
there are a few things that have come up in
the news overnight. One of those is a story in
the Northern Territory News, a damning finding by the Northern
Territory KAK that a public officer engaged in improper conduct
in relation to the recruitment of a friend early last
year without proper management around conflict of interest issues. Now
(14:20):
what we know is the AYKAK has found a senior
executive public officer engaged in improper conduct related to mismanaging
a conflict of interest. It seems as though from what
I can gather, this person has actually sat on the
recruitment panel for somebody who he's also given a reference to.
I mean, it sounds highly inappropriate.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Yeah, look, Katie, this is obviously very disappointing. The IKAK
has made their statement late last week around in proper
conduct in mismanagement mismanaging a conflict of interest. So I
wrote to the CEO of Chief Minister and Cabinet and
to the Public Service Commissioner as well. I want to
know what type of education and training we're doing at
(15:04):
all levels of government, because recruitment is something that has
done right across every agency and every and lots of
layers of the agencies. So I'm trying to get a
better understanding of what our processes and expectations are and
what we can do to further strength and that to
make sure that it obviously doesn't happen again.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I mean, we saw a situation as I'm sure you're aware.
I'm aware Matt Cunningham had written about this on the
weekend and about the former Children's Commissioner Colin and Gwin,
you know, being dismissed and going through the absolute ringer,
to put it mildly, about a similar situation.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I mean, look, what do you sort of of make
of that? What do you make of that?
Speaker 1 (15:42):
And now the situation that we're seeing with this public
servant's not being named, you know, Colin and Gwinn was,
as I said, taken through the ringer.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, and look, I think this raises other issues around
all of the different layers that we have in the
territory and so this matter is one done by Ironcake.
The Gwin matter was one pushed obviously brought forward by
the DPP. And you know that we have the onbuds men,
we have a number of integrity mechanisms and so it's
about making sure they're all working properly. But I think
(16:12):
it's safe to say people will find this very disappointing
and frustrating, and you know I share that as well.
It's very difficult when you have constraints in an ICAC system.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Should that person be able to stay in their job?
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Well, I think at the end of the day, the
IKAC has made a decision not to name for various reasons,
and so it's clearly about education then going forward to
make sure it doesn't happen again. But you know, people
will be you know, it raises a number of questions
and that's why I'm seeking that clarity around what do
we currently do to make sure there's integrity and processes
(16:47):
and what can we do going forward to absolutely retrain
make sure everyone understands the importance of managing conflicts going forward.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
All right, A quick one, we know an industry delegation
is this week heading across to the Indo Pacific in
an effort to strengthen defense partnerships and expand economic opportunities
for the Northern territory. So it's a week long strategic
mission led by Defense into and others are going to
be meeting with you as defense as well as defense contractors.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Are you going or you're not going? On now?
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Now, I'm not going on this one.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
It's really important to me that I stay in the
territory until I get a few more things done before
I head off overseas. And you know, that is an
important part of being Chief Minister, but it's not the
most important, and I've made a very conscious decision not
to be doing.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
That travel yet.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
Later in the year, I probably will have to go
to Honolulu and Japan in relation to our business connections
and obviously our pursuit of defense investment in the territory.
But I'll be really open about that as the time,
you know, as we get closer in that time. But
I've sent a key delegation over and this is really
a great opportunity for us to secure more spend here
(17:58):
there is This is part of the the United States
Force posture initiatives, and so there's a huge amount of
money on the table, about fifteen billion, Katie. And so
by sending industry over, this is our chance to showcase
capability in the territory, really get in front of those
United States defense contractors and hopefully secure more investment in
(18:19):
partnership with territory businesses here in the territory.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Do we know how much it's costing.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Yep, this costs about from memory, it's about forty thousand
dollars to send an official from the Department and some
of the key industry leaders over and hopefully we come
back with multiple millions of dollars worth of investment. We
won't know by the end of the week, but I
know we've laid really strong foundations in that space and
the US are a key partner.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
So you do feel it's money well spent.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Absolutely. We have to be in front of contractors. This
is our best way to leverage outcomes. Relationship building is
really important. So when you're doing business overseas, the relationship
is a critical component, not just in Asia, which is
well known, but with the United States as well. So
this is important work that has to be done. It
comes at a cost, but if we don't do it,
(19:08):
we almost certainly will miss out.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Chief Finister La Finocchiaro will let you go. Thank you
so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Thank you, Take care everyone,
Now joining me live in the studio this morning is
the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Lea Fanocchiiro.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Good morning to your Chief Minister.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Still mining Katy into your listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Now, sadly, another domestic violence death on the weekend, a
man killed at the hands of his partner in Alowa.
Police arrested a thirty one year old woman following the
alleged stabbing, as well as an attack on another woman. Now,
according to the police, the Joint Emergency Services Communications Center
responded to reports that both the man and the woman
(00:28):
had allegedly been stabbed at a home in Aloha Crescent
on Friday night. Now, the man was reported to be unconscious.
Police and Saint John Ambulance found the thirty three year
old man in a critical condition with stab wounds.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
He later died.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I mean, these horrific incidents, they're happening almost daily, like
the terrible incidents of domestic violence. But then we've got
domestic violence deaths happening.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
All too often. What can your.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Government do on urgens to try and make some in
roads here.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Yeah, Look, it's a terribly sad situation and obviously our
thoughts are with the family and the friends of the deceased,
and it's awful, Katie.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
And you're right, we hear about it all too often.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
You know, we've committed thirty six million dollars a year ongoing.
That's the biggest commitment the government's ever done. Is money
the only answer? Absolutely not, And I think we've seen
that money often isn't the answer at all.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So we've strengthened the laws.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
There's more work being done, and we should have some
new laws ready for introduction in March sittings as well,
specifically around this issue of domestic violence. But it's a
tragedy and it's I think it's symptomatic of many, many
years of permissive laws and policies that haven't clamped down
on people who start that offending journey. I think we're
just seeing mass escalation in offending because of weak laws
(01:54):
for far too long.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Where are things that then, with that funding role out,
I mean, are we seeing that money hit the ground,
and are we seeing things like I know there's a
lot of talk about men's behavior change programs and that
kind of stuff, but what about you know, making sure
that women have a safe place to sleep?
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Yeah, exactly, that is really important and that work is
ongoing with Minister carl. I know an additional eight point
four million has been allocated for twenty four hour frontline services,
which is really important. We've also got the Domestic Violence
Correspondent model happening at the moment as well.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Again, changes to the Sentencing.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Act are certainly required and other legal frameworks that we
can clamp down, but it's that preventative work as well.
You know a lot of people who commit domestic violence
were victims of domestic violence as a child or witnessed
it as a child, and so we've got to be
getting in very very early to make sure there isn't
another generation of DV perpetrators because they themselves were victims.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
All Right, I'm going to move along because we've got
a lot to cover off on this morning. And the
Law Society of the Northern Territory late last week so
that it was disappointed and concerned the media commentary of
recent weeks concerning the decision by the Northern Territory Supreme
Court to grant bail to a young defendant to attend
a funeral in a remote community. Now, Society President Mister
(03:11):
Richard Henschke said it is imperative that the media and others,
including politicians, who comment publicly on such matters take utmost
care to ensure the accuracy of their commentary.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
The comments followed a four page statement which was issued
by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in response
to public commentary concerning the granting of bail to the
teenager ten days ago. Chief, it seems to me the
law society is concerned by commentary around the granting of
bail to that youth involved in an incident which saw
the baby's skull fracture. Now we know that obviously, are
(03:49):
the Chief Justice also issuing that statement about these considerations
required when determining whether to grant compassionate bail.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Has this made you in a less.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Concerned that the team was granted bail to attend a
funeral at a cost of more than seven thousand dollars
or has it changed your mind on your comments you've made.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Oh no, absolutely not, Katie.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
And again the community was furious and continue to under
to be questioning why this happened. Now, I undertook last
week to go away and do some further work on
this and that is still ongoing. And I will absolutely
let your listeners know if I can get to the
bottom of whether or not this is normal practice, whether
or not this money has been spent before. Certainly the
(04:31):
Chief Justice putting out a statement was highly unusual, and
he flagged a couple of areas which raised our eyebrows
around what further.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Work we can do to strengthen the law. So to
that extent we were it.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Was useful because we can now look at whether we
need to tighten discretion. But I think it also defies
or Beggar's belief. You know, the Chief Justice made a
comment in his statement about their needing to be that
other jurisdictions need the judges to so excuse me, have
a high degree of confidence, and I just did have
got me thinking, well, we can strengthen the lord to
(05:04):
make it say, judges have to have a high degree
of confidence, but surely they've got to have a degree.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Of confidence before they make the decision.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Just I'll take our listeners through that because in the statement,
as you touched on there, he said there is no
provision in the Northern Territory legislation requiring that bail must
not be granted to a youth unless the court has
a high degree of confidence now the young person, and
so a high degree of confidence that the young person
will not commit a further offense while on bail. So
(05:34):
I would have thought the same thing, right, I would
have thought that you're not actually granting bail unless you
do have a high degree of confidence that they're not
going to commit a further offense while on bail. Unfortunately,
we seem to see that time and time again in
the Northern Territory. Very often we receive press releases from
the Northern Territory Police somebody's been charged, a youth's being charged.
(05:56):
They're also being charged with breaching bail. So now looking
at strengthening this legislation, is that something that needs to
be tightened up. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Absolutely, So we're already doing a rewrite of the Use
Justice Act, so that is already on foot, but we'll
now look at this clause and see whether that's required.
But at the end of the day, I'm with you, Katie.
I would have thought before the judge makes any decision
around BAO, they have to have a degree of confidence
that they're not going to go on to offend. And
as far as I'm concerned, the criteria that was outlined
(06:25):
in the statement showed me all the reasons why you
wouldn't grunt that person bow, not the reasons why you
would have.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
You met with the Chief Justice about.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
This, No, I haven't, but the as appropriate the Attorney
General has and you know that meeting needs to be
a private meeting, you know, between the detected arms, and
that's important. But at the end of the day, I'll
make sure we strengthen the law if that's what requires
is required. I'll make sure that we set a standard
within the agencies to make sure that we are not
(06:52):
just blindly you know, paying for things. So there's a
lot of work that needs to be done because this
hasn't been challenge before and it's not well understood.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
So we're still working through it.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
So just on the funeral cost and whether that has
happened before. You mentioned that you've met with the department.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Has it happened before, So it's unclear.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
This is quite an unusual situation in that Corrections could
have just said yep, all right, we'll bow the youth
for the day. They decided not to because it was
too high risk and they didn't have the resources. So
that then meant because the territory was the parent. Because
the child is under the care and protection, the territory
has to act like the parent. And so I think
(07:34):
for me, there's broader questions around and there's parents listening
right now. As parents, we all have to draw lines
in the sand about what we can do for our kids,
how much we can afford. And so I don't necessarily
think that going forward, just because the territory is quote
unquote the parent means that the territory has to take
extreme risk and extreme cost to facilitate something. Now, there
(07:56):
are plenty of people who miss funerals, including your listeners,
who decide that they can't afford to go into state
for the funeral or the children can't come with them.
So you know, we have to have compassion in these situations.
But also there's a realism that comes for ordinary parents.
There has to be a realism that comes for the
territory when it's a parent too.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Okay, So it does sound as though you're seeking some
further insformation from the department. Still, I'll be very interested
to see what comes back there. It also looks like
or sounds like you are looking at this part of
you know, this provision or there being no provision in
the Northern Territory legislation requiring that bail must not be
(08:35):
granted to a youth unless the court has got a
high degree of confidence. So is there the possibility here
that your government's going to change that legislation.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah, definitely, it's certainly in the mix now, Katie, and
we're just working through that now. And our rewrite of
the Youth Justice Act is something we are really looking
forward to, as I'm sure your listeners are as well.
So you know we've done our reducing crime package with
Declan's Law, knife crime, news is public drinking, minimum, mandatory
sentencing for assaults on work is a whole range of
(09:04):
other things. And we've always said there's more work to do.
Last Parliament we gave police better powers to enter premises,
so that works on going and we'll just keep working
at it till we get it right.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
On the Youth Justice Act.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Now, somebody listener did get in contact with us and
raised with a section sixty.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Four A of the Youth Justice Act.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Now this section says Youth Justice Court may dismiss charges
so as sixty four A Section one, subject to sub
Section two, the Youth Justice Act may at any stage
of the proceedings against a youth in respect of an offense,
dismiss the charge in respect of the offense, whether or
not the court finds the charge proven against the youth.
(09:47):
Now I am not a legal expert. Oh I'm certainly
not professing to know the Youth Justice Act inside and out.
But from the outset of that me reading that, I
read that to me that at any point the court
can dismiss charges which the police have laid against a youth.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
That could be very serious.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Yeah, and our legislation is way too broad. So Queensland
and New South Wales do have very similar provisions, but
they are a bit tighter. So this section sixty four
A will be part of the Youth Justice rewrite that
we're doing, and we'll look at strengthening that. But I mean,
I just want to go to your point, perhaps in
your opener, Kadi, where we've got the opposition leader coming
(10:29):
out swinging on our bail laws. I mean section sixty
eight eight is a Labor construct and we've got a.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So how long's that section of it been in place?
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Well, probably since the New Youth's Justice Act under Labour
when they did the big rewrite. Quite a few years
ago where all of the bail laws were weakened and
all of that other stuff. So I think Labour's kidding
themselves if they want to have a crack at us
for bower laws. We've gone a long way and there's
more to go. But I tell you what under Labor
people were getting about, left, right and sent.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So can I can I just delve into this a
bit more deeply this point in time? Can the court
dismiss any charges that have been laid against youth if
they see fit?
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Look, I won't answer that, Katie, only because I don't
exactly know the answer. It certainly reads that way and
it's certainly been told to me that it is too broad. Queensland,
as I said, Pensland and Youth outwise do have similar provisions.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Can we make a kit tighter? Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (11:23):
So I'm throwing that section into the Youth Justice Act
rewrite so that the right people can look at it.
So that'll be police, children and families, Attorney General and
Justice and Corrections. They will look at it and come
back to us with what we need to do that's better.
And I'll try to get an answer to you on that.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
So you can let your listeners know.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
So when are you expecting that that rerise of the
Youth Justice Act is going to sort of be ready
to go?
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Yeah, I think we're looking to midyears. So obviously, if
it can be done sooner, we absolutely will. But we
want it to be really comprehensive as well. And because
it touches on a number of agencies, we've really pulled
together a tea to be able to look at it,
and I've been able to put in a lot from say,
Strike Force, Trident for example, gave me some on the
ground practical measures they'd like to see in it. So
(12:09):
that's in the mix, and it's been a really collaborative,
front line initiative and we're really looking forward to getting
that through.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Look, I know some people listening will be thinking, you know,
will be putting kids in jail is not the answer.
Charging kids is not the answer. There needs to be
intervention early. You need to stop them before they get
on this track. And look, sure, you know that's all true,
it is, but at the end of the day, if
there are young people who are committing serious offenses, there
(12:39):
also needs to be a consequence to those offenses, and
you have.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
To weigh up their rights versus the community's right to
be safe, and that is always a balancing act. But
that's exactly what a justice system is for. If you
have a young person that shows continued disregard for the
law is exhibiting a risk to the community, they have
to be dealt with in an environment that means everyone
else can go about their day safely. And that's the
(13:03):
that's the brutality.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Of the system.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
But if you're doing the right thing, you'll never have
a problem. So that's my message to everyone.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Just feels a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
It sounds as though everything is on the table when
it comes to the Youth Justice Act and it being rewritten.
Not just the age of Criminal Responsibility.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Oh absolutely so age of criminal Responsibility is done. The
Youth Justice rewrite is looking at all sorts of things
that you know, Labor unwound a lot of things, Katie,
and you know, we don't have all the answers yet
because as we come across something just like last week,
it raises up new issues that we need to fix.
So the idea behind the rewrite is to pull all
(13:41):
the right agencies together to get their feedback on how
that act that Labor did has been working and how
we can strengthen it to better align to community expectations.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
So we're very keen to get it done.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
I don't want to rush it, but I don't want
it to drag on, so I would expect by midyear
we're good to go.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
All right, A couple of couple of quick ones, because
there are a few things that have come up in
the news overnight. One of those is a story in
the Northern Territory News, a damning finding by the Northern
Territory KAK that a public officer engaged in improper conduct
in relation to the recruitment of a friend early last
year without proper management around conflict of interest issues. Now
(14:20):
what we know is the AYKAK has found a senior
executive public officer engaged in improper conduct related to mismanaging
a conflict of interest. It seems as though from what
I can gather, this person has actually sat on the
recruitment panel for somebody who he's also given a reference to.
I mean, it sounds highly inappropriate.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
Yeah, look, Katie, this is obviously very disappointing. The IKAK
has made their statement late last week around in proper
conduct in mismanagement mismanaging a conflict of interest. So I
wrote to the CEO of Chief Minister and Cabinet and
to the Public Service Commissioner as well. I want to
know what type of education and training we're doing at
(15:04):
all levels of government, because recruitment is something that has
done right across every agency and every and lots of
layers of the agencies. So I'm trying to get a
better understanding of what our processes and expectations are and
what we can do to further strength and that to
make sure that it obviously doesn't happen again.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I mean, we saw a situation as I'm sure you're aware.
I'm aware Matt Cunningham had written about this on the
weekend and about the former Children's Commissioner Colin and Gwin,
you know, being dismissed and going through the absolute ringer,
to put it mildly, about a similar situation.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I mean, look, what do you sort of of make
of that? What do you make of that?
Speaker 1 (15:42):
And now the situation that we're seeing with this public
servant's not being named, you know, Colin and Gwinn was,
as I said, taken through the ringer.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, and look, I think this raises other issues around
all of the different layers that we have in the
territory and so this matter is one done by Ironcake.
The Gwin matter was one pushed obviously brought forward by
the DPP. And you know that we have the onbuds men,
we have a number of integrity mechanisms and so it's
about making sure they're all working properly. But I think
(16:12):
it's safe to say people will find this very disappointing
and frustrating, and you know I share that as well.
It's very difficult when you have constraints in an ICAC system.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Should that person be able to stay in their job?
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Well, I think at the end of the day, the
IKAC has made a decision not to name for various reasons,
and so it's clearly about education then going forward to
make sure it doesn't happen again. But you know, people
will be you know, it raises a number of questions
and that's why I'm seeking that clarity around what do
we currently do to make sure there's integrity and processes
(16:47):
and what can we do going forward to absolutely retrain
make sure everyone understands the importance of managing conflicts going forward.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
All right, A quick one, we know an industry delegation
is this week heading across to the Indo Pacific in
an effort to strengthen defense partnerships and expand economic opportunities
for the Northern territory. So it's a week long strategic
mission led by Defense into and others are going to
be meeting with you as defense as well as defense contractors.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Are you going or you're not going? On now?
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Now, I'm not going on this one.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
It's really important to me that I stay in the
territory until I get a few more things done before
I head off overseas. And you know, that is an
important part of being Chief Minister, but it's not the
most important, and I've made a very conscious decision not
to be doing.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
That travel yet.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
Later in the year, I probably will have to go
to Honolulu and Japan in relation to our business connections
and obviously our pursuit of defense investment in the territory.
But I'll be really open about that as the time,
you know, as we get closer in that time. But
I've sent a key delegation over and this is really
a great opportunity for us to secure more spend here
(17:58):
there is This is part of the the United States
Force posture initiatives, and so there's a huge amount of
money on the table, about fifteen billion, Katie. And so
by sending industry over, this is our chance to showcase
capability in the territory, really get in front of those
United States defense contractors and hopefully secure more investment in
(18:19):
partnership with territory businesses here in the territory.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Do we know how much it's costing.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Yep, this costs about from memory, it's about forty thousand
dollars to send an official from the Department and some
of the key industry leaders over and hopefully we come
back with multiple millions of dollars worth of investment. We
won't know by the end of the week, but I
know we've laid really strong foundations in that space and
the US are a key partner.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
So you do feel it's money well spent.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Absolutely. We have to be in front of contractors. This
is our best way to leverage outcomes. Relationship building is
really important. So when you're doing business overseas, the relationship
is a critical component, not just in Asia, which is
well known, but with the United States as well. So
this is important work that has to be done. It
comes at a cost, but if we don't do it,
(19:08):
we almost certainly will miss out.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Chief Finister La Finocchiaro will let you go. Thank you
so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Thank you, Take care everyone,
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